Tupelov Tu-4

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The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the U.S.-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the USAAF. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, virtually in the Soviet Union's backyard, from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber.
The U.S. refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29 heavy bombers under Lend Lease, despite repeated Soviet requests.[1] However, on three occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviets were neutral in the Pacific War and the bombers were therefore interned and kept by the Soviets, despite American demands for their return.[2] Stalin tasked Tupolev with cloning the Superfortress and Soviet industry was to produce 20 copies of the aircraft in just two years. The three B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered into Tupolev OKB. One B-29 was fully dismantled, down to the smallest bolt, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference. [3]
The Soviets used a different engine, the Shvetsov ASh-73, which had some parts in common with the Superfortress' Wright R-3350 but was not identical. The remote-controlled gun turrets were also redesigned to accommodate Soviet 23 mm cannons.
The Soviet Union used the metric system, thus 1/16th inch (1.6 mm) thick sheet aluminum and proper rivet lengths were unavailable. The corresponding metric-gauge metal was thicker; as a result, the Tu-4 weighed about 3,100 lb (1,400 kg) more than the B-29, with a corresponding decrease in range and payload.
Tu-4 engineers were under very heavy pressure to achieve an exact clone of the original B-29. Each minute alteration had to be scrutinized and was a subject to a lengthy bureaucratic process. For instance, because 1/16 inch nominal sheet thickness equals 1.5875mm, no industry in the USSR was willing to take the responsibility to produce sheets with such accuracy. Engineers had to lobby with high-ranking military officials even for the most basic common sense decisions. In another example, the Soviets reverse-engineered and copied the American IFF system and actually had it installed in the first Tu-4 built. As yet another example, Kerber, Tupolev's deputy at the time, recalled in his memoirs that engineers had to obtain an authorization from a high-ranking Air Force general in order to use Soviet-made parachutes for the crew.

leo19 Uploaded by leo19 on Jul 6, 2010. Tupelov Tu-4 - Desktop Nexus Aircraft Download free wallpapers and background images: Tupelov Tu-4. Desktop Nexus Aircraft background ID 400109. The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the U.S.-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the USAAF. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, virtually in the Soviet Union's backyard, from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber.
The U.S. refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29 heavy bombers under Lend Lease, despite repeated Soviet requests.[1] However, on three occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviets were neutral in the Pacific War and the bombers were therefore interned and kept by the Soviets, despite American demands for their return.[2] Stalin tasked Tupolev with cloning the Superfortress and Soviet industry was to produce 20 copies of the aircraft in just two years. The three B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered into Tupolev OKB. One B-29 was fully dismantled, down to the smallest bolt, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference. [3]
The Soviets used a different engine, the Shvetsov ASh-73, which had some parts in common with the Superfortress' Wright R-3350 but was not identical. The remote-controlled gun turrets were also redesigned to accommodate Soviet 23 mm cannons.
The Soviet Union used the metric system, thus 1/16th inch (1.6 mm) thick sheet aluminum and proper rivet lengths were unavailable. The corresponding metric-gauge metal was thicker; as a result, the Tu-4 weighed about 3,100 lb (1,400 kg) more than the B-29, with a corresponding decrease in range and payload.
Tu-4 engineers were under very heavy pressure to achieve an exact clone of the original B-29. Each minute alteration had to be scrutinized and was a subject to a lengthy bureaucratic process. For instance, because 1/16 inch nominal sheet thickness equals 1.5875mm, no industry in the USSR was willing to take the responsibility to produce sheets with such accuracy. Engineers had to lobby with high-ranking military officials even for the most basic common sense decisions. In another example, the Soviets reverse-engineered and copied the American IFF system and actually had it installed in the first Tu-4 built. As yet another example, Kerber, Tupolev's deputy at the time, recalled in his memoirs that engineers had to obtain an authorization from a high-ranking Air Force general in order to use Soviet-made parachutes for the crew. Rating: 4.2